The United States on Friday sanctioned nine individuals and three entities in Belarus it accuses of suppressing democratic movements in the country and supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Among other things, the sanctions are designed to prevent Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and his family from using the presidential plane, a Boeing 737, for international travel, the US Treasury Department said, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
Two major car manufacturers in Belarus, BelAZ and Minsk-based MAS, are also targeted by the new sanctions.
Employees of these companies were involved in the protests that followed the August 2020 presidential election, which Lukashenko won again and which the United States considered fraudulent.
When the employees of these companies started protesting, the management of BelAZ and MAZ tried to intimidate them and threaten them with dismissal, according to the Ministry of Finance.
As a result, the US Treasury Department today announced sanctions against Sergei Olegovich Nikiforovich, director of BelAZ, and Valery Valerievich Ivankovich, who had previously been targeted by the European Union (EU) and Canada.
The United States has also tightened restrictions on the Central Election Commission of Belarus (CEC), which was sanctioned after the 2020 election.
The Treasury Department has added seven of the new CEC members to its “blacklist” who joined the committee after Washington imposed sanctions.
Any assets sanctioned persons may have in the United States will be frozen.
They will also be prohibited from entering into financial transactions with any US citizen, effectively making it difficult for them to access the international financial system, which is based on the dollar.
At the same time, the United States announced it will limit visas to 14 people, some members of the Belarusian government accused by Washington of involvement in internal repression or support for Russia in Ukraine.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has become one of Russia’s main allies in the war against Ukraine, and soldiers from both countries have held joint military exercises.
At the start of the conflict a year ago, Belarus allowed Russia to station troops on its territory with the idea that they could reach Kiev by the shortest land route, in an offensive that failed.
Source: DN
